Working together to survive Trump

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Progressives undoubtedly hoped they’d have an ally in President Hillary Clinton — even if she wasn’t far enough left for many of them. Instead, with Donald Trump, progressives will face a president who is apathetic at best and hostile at worst to their causes and concerns.

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PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMSON

Tori Fox St. Jacques at the “Not My America” rally held in the University of Rochester’s Eastman Quadrangle last week. Several hundred people turned out to protest Donald Trump’s election.

The initial signs aren’t good. President-elect Trump appointed Myron Ebell, an outspoken skeptic of climate change, to oversee the transition of the Environmental Protection Agency. And you can probably wave goodbye to the Affordable Care Act.

Locally, some activists say they are worried, but they’re not giving up. They need reassurance that their state and local officials, as well as the community, will fight with them, they say. And you can still lobby state and local governments for progressive policies and causes.

Rochesterians can push City Council to pass its recently released Climate Action Plan, for example, and they can display a Gay Pride flag to show solidarity with the LGBTQ community. Stay vigilant and make sure that hate and abuse are challenged, says Scott Fearing, executive director of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley.

“Everything he has been saying is negative — there’s nothing positive about him,” says Ayan Abdi, job/career placement assistant at Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services, about Trump. “That scares you, especially when that person is elected to be president.”

The refugee community needs to hear that elected officials and the broader Rochester community have its back, she says.

Many opportunities exist locally for people to keep the work going to advance progressive causes. If your organization is missing from the following list, you can email your group’s name, contact information, and a brief description to themail@rochester-citynews.com. We’ll add it to the list, which will be kept up on this site.